My Simple Chinese Study Plan

Not so long ago I posted this, 我应制定学习计划。我要学习计划。I should make a study plan. I need a study plan.  As I have been very busy with a number of things I still haven’t made this study plan.

So today I am setting out my attack on Chinese learning. It is very simple and I plan to do the following;

• Have an online / Skype Chinese lesson on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 2 x 25 minute Pomodoros
• Listen to my Pimsleur Chinese Mandarin II audio once a day (maybe twice a day) 1 x Pomodoro
• At least 50 minutes of Hanzi learning on Skritter ( I usually break this up into 2 X 25 minutes Pomodoros 

Now this is rather a lot and I may not be able to do every task every day. However I am going to try this for the next 65 days as that is the countdown to my ELTF Dalian Study.

There are some other tasks I need to do.  I do try to do my Homework or revise my lesson notes…my very competent Chinese teacher would say I don’t do this….
Regarding the Pimsleur Chinese I often do while walking, doing the washing up or preparing dinner….yet somehow I still manage to do retain much of what I want from the course.

Also I shall be incorporating the following;

• Set specific times – I will study in the early morning
• Pre book Chinese lessons – My thrice weekly lesson is @ 11:00 am
• Make the content interesting – While I still have to study NPCR 3 (this is another story), I do plan to make the lessons and study specific to my needs
• Set a concrete goal of what I want to achieve

I am going to try to work something out according to this formula –> number of classes +  hours spent studying Chinese = Should be able to do the following in Chinese. Might set this out in a detailed post soonish..
I have to thank two people for their suggestions and ideas.
Brandon @ Study More Chinese.  Study More Chinese is a free social Chinese learning networking site.
Kevin Principal @ Mandarin World. Chinese language school for foreigners in Shanghai.

Would you take your child to China?

A recent fashion of some wealthy American families is to take their children to China to learn Mandarin. Curious to see the lengths some parents will go to for their offspring. American interest in Chinese language and culture has increased rapidly during the past years. There is an increase in Chinese language in schools and universities, after school classes, tutoring, hiring Mandarin speaking nannies, even enrolling their children in schools with partial Chinese immersion classes. Some parents seem to be doing all they can to encourage their children to learn Mandarin.



Watch this "Moving to China to Learn Mandarin"

In some ways it reminds me of Sushi on a Stick that I read for two years. An Australian family lived and worked for two years in Japan. The objectives were not exclusively for the children to learn Japanese. It seems that the parent’s had wanderlust (an affliction I suffer from too). I really enjoyed reading this adventure.
So Americans pack up and take their families to China. I would be interested to read or know of their experiences. I did find one example And Then We Slipped Away Into the Night… ends a family’s two months stay in Beijing. And Then We Found An Apartment is the beginning of the saga if you want to read more. A move like this has to be carefully planned it could all end in disappointment.

A close reading of the WSJ and BI article reveals that the American families heading to China are professional career people. These parents are very committed to letting their children become Mandarin speakers. Selling their house and taking a year off work. I wonder if Australian parents would do the same for their children.



To Improve Kids' Chinese, Parents Head to Asia

American Families Are Now Packing Up And Moving To China So Their Kids Can Learn To Speak Mandarin